About Us

Board of Directors

Robert Greenberg, MD, PhD, Chairman

Dr. Greenberg was appointed Chairman of the Board in August 2015. He is a founder of the company and served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director from 1998 until August 2015. From 1991 to 1997, Dr. Greenberg conducted pre-clinical and clinical trials demonstrating the feasibility of retinal electrical stimulation to elicit visual perceptions. From 1997 to 1998, he served as a lead reviewer for IDEs and 510(k)s at the Office of Device Evaluation at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the Neurological Devices Division. In 1998, he received his medical and doctorate degrees from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Greenberg currently is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Southern California Biomedical Council and the Alfred Mann Foundations. From May 2015 to November 2017, Dr. Greenberg was on the Board of Directors of a public company, Pulse Biosciences, using nanosecond pulses to modulate cellular activity applied to oncology, dermatology and other minimally invasive applications.

Will McGuire - President and CEO

Mr. McGuire became a Board member in August 2015 when he joined Second Sight as President and CEO. Most recently he was with Volcano Corporation, where he was President of Americas Commercial since 2014 and prior to that, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Coronary Imaging, Systems and Program Management since 2013. Prior to that Mr. McGuire served as Vice President and General Manager of Patient Monitoring at Covidien. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of AtheroMed, Inc., a venture capital-backed peripheral atherectomy company, prior to which he was Chief Operating Officer at Spectranetics Corporation, a publicly-traded medical device company. In addition, Mr. McGuire held various positions at Guidant Corporation from 1998 to 2005 including General Manager of Guidant Latin America; Director of U.S. Marketing for Vascular Intervention (VI); Director of Global Marketing for VI; and, Production Manager for Coronary Stents. Prior to 1998, Mr. McGuire held positions in Finance and Production at IVAC Medical Systems. A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Mr. McGuire received his M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

William J. Link, Director

Mr. Link has been a member of our Board of Directors since 2003. Mr. Link is a co-founder and managing director of Versant Ventures, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investing in healthcare companies, since its inception in 1999. Prior to co-founding Versant Ventures, Mr. Link was a general partner at Brentwood Venture Capital. In 1986 Mr. Link founded Chiron Vision, a subsidiary of Chiron Corporation specializing in ophthalmic surgical products. He served as chairman and CEO of Chiron Corporation until it was sold to Bausch and Lomb in 1997. In 1978, Mr. Link founded and served as President of American Medical Optics (AMO), a division of American Hospital Supply Corporation, which was sold to Allergan in 1986. From 2002 until 2009, Mr. Link also served on the Board of AMO’s successor company, Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) which was acquired by Abbott in 2009. Mr. Link was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine from 1973 to 1976. Mr. Link received his BSc, MSc and Ph.D. from Purdue University. Our board has concluded that Mr. Link’s senior executive history with a focus on medical products as well as his extensive financial and other experience with technology companies in general, including his experience of serving on other boards of directors make him a qualified and valued member of our board.

Aaron Mendelsohn, Director

Mr. Mendelsohn is a founder and has been a director of Second Sight since the company’s inception. Mr. Mendelsohn joined the board of Advanced Bionics shortly after its founding in 1993, and served on the board until the company’s sale in 2004. Mr. Mendelsohn was also a founder and director of MRG from its inception in 1998 until its sale in 2001 to Medtronic, Inc. Mr. Mendelsohn has served on the board of directors for the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California since its inception in 1998, and is a member of its Executive Committee. In 2007, Mr. Mendelsohn founded Nanoprecision Holding Company, Inc., a world leader in manipulating materials at nanometer scale, and has served on its board of directors since then. He is also a founder and director of Nanoprecision Medical, Inc., a drug delivery company working in nanotechnology, since its inception in 2011. Mr. Mendelsohn serves as Chairman of the Maestro Foundation, a leading non-profit musical philanthropic organization that hosts a premier chamber music series and lends professional-level instruments and bows to young, career-bound classical musicians, which he founded in 1983. Mr. Mendelsohn received his B.A. from UCLA and J.D. from Loyola University School of Law Los Angeles. Our board believes that Mr. Mendelsohn’s business experience, including his experience as a founder, board member and executive officer of medical device companies, combined with his financial experience, business acumen and judgment provide our Board with valuable managerial and operational expertise and leadership skills making him well qualified to serve as one of our directors.

Matthew Pfeffer, Director

Mr. Pfeffer joined our Board of Directors in May 2015 and serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Pfeffer has served as the Corporate Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of MannKind Corporation since April 2008. Since January 2016, Mr. Pfeffer has been Chief Executive Officer of MannKind Corporation as well as remaining the Chief Financial Officer. Previously, Mr. Pfeffer served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration of VaxGen, Inc. from March 2006 until April 2008, with responsibility for finance, tax, treasury, human resources, IT, purchasing and facilities functions. Prior to VaxGen, Mr. Pfeffer served as CFO of Cell Genesys, Inc. During his nine year tenure at Cell Genesys, Mr. Pfeffer served as Director of Finance before being named CFO in 1998. Prior to that, Mr. Pfeffer served in a variety of financial management positions at other companies, including roles as Corporate Controller, Manager of Internal Audit and Manager of Financial Reporting. Mr. Pfeffer began his career at Price Waterhouse. Mr. Pfeffer graduated from the University of California, Berkeley and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Gregg Williams, Director

Mr. Williams has been a member of our Board of Directors since June 2009. Mr. Williams has been the Chief Executive Officer at Williams International Co., LLC since April 2005. Mr. Williams serves as the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Williams International Corporation. Mr. Williams also is a Director of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Mr. Williams received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Utah in 1982. Our board believes that Mr. Williams’ executive and managerial experience combined with his leadership skills make him well qualified to serve as one of our directors.